Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“I should head home,” she decided. “He and I have a lot to talk about.”
It just occurred to me that if she’d cheated, it may have been with Ryan. It only made sense that that would be the case, or Ryan wouldn’t have felt the need to talk to Duke in the first place when he saw him. Ryan offered to drive her home, and she accepted. By tomorrow, maybe Duke and I would be in the same boat.
When we finally parted ways, my head swam with emotions and a lot of beer. I couldn’t tell whether the empty pit in my soul was from everything I’d just witnessed or the excess of alcohol challenging my liver to a duel.
In a way, I felt damaged, abandoned like a used toy dropped into a for-sale box. Suddenly, I didn’t want this job, but I hadn’t thought I’d wanted it because of Ryan. How could I have? We barely even knew each other—no more than a couple of good conversations, drinks, and two nights of sex. That’s all it was. I hoped I wasn’t making the wrong choice by staying. The misery I’d be in to be that tagalong friend of a happy couple—I’d be worse off than if I’d just kept living at home.
I wanted them to be happy. I really, truly did. But I couldn’t lie to myself; I’d hoped Ryan had wanted me.
Chapter 29
Ryan
“It was nice running into you. I had a good time,” Darlene said, her dark eyes glassy.
“Me too,” I said, smiling down at her. “I forgot we could have fun like that.”
Her lower lip pushed against her upper one into a pitiful sort of pout. “Maybe we should have gone on more dates.”
I sighed, shaking my head with the could-have-beens trying to breach my thoughts. “Maybe. Is it okay that I drive you home? Or would you rather take a rideshare? I don’t want to mess things up with you and Duke again.”
“Again?” she asked playfully.
“As in, I don’t want things to be messed up again, and I’d hate to be the cause of the second time.”
Darlene laughed and gave me a lazy push that forced her a few steps back, though I just stood in place. “Why are you so heavy?” she complained with a stomp of her foot.
“Why don’t we take a walk first? If you’re going to throw up, I’d rather it not be in my truck.”
“We can take my car.” She jutted a finger at her Mazda, her other hand fumbling in her purse for the keys.
“I don’t want you to throw up in your car, either.” I snagged her wrist when the keys jangled out. “I’m still paying for that one, too.”
She glared at me but broke into a smile that made me laugh again.
“I think I need to call you an Uber. People might get the wrong idea if they see you in my truck in this condition.” I shot her a wink, and she giggled.
“I’m taken, honey.”
“So am I.”
Her face screwed up into a pinched look that made me laugh again. “Are you sure she wants to be with you? Have you even asked her?”
“Not really. I haven’t talked to her in a few days.”
“Why?”
I sighed. The night air brought with it a breeze that blew around us and offered to take away the weight of words I hadn’t said. Words I didn’t know how to say. “She found out about the lawsuit and hated me for it. I wasn’t sure that’s what I was going to do when I talked to her about it. I just needed advice.”
“Did she give it to you?”
“She did.” I nodded. “She just didn’t like how she saw me afterward.” A knot wrapped around my throat and squeezed as I remembered her sudden disgust. “I don’t think she wants to be with me now.”
“I think she does,” she said, her voice a lot calmer now.
“Why do you say that?”
We both looked at the cloudy night sky, but I knew where Darlene’s gaze went. She always looked at the moon. It was the only thing that remained bright while the city glare drowned out the stars. She used to say it was the only thing worth looking at when night fell.
“She didn’t seem to enjoy being the third wheel when you showed up.”
“The third wheel? To what?”
Darlene spun to face me and gripped both of my hands. “Us, Ryan.”
“Us?”
She nodded. “You brought a woman into your life with no strings, but then she met me. She learned about what you were going through. You two bonded over your issues and your problems. It doesn’t take more than that to have feelings for someone.”
“Well, she hasn’t said anything.”
“Maybe because she doesn’t feel like she should.”
I couldn’t tell whether Darlene was trying to tell me to say something first or if she was hinting at something else. At something I should have noticed that Christie already had. “Do you want us to get back together?”